Battling Huddersfield Giants held their nerve to move within one win of securing a top-four Super League finish with a gutsy 14-12 triumph.

It wasn't pretty in the least. In fact, it was scrappy in the extreme.

But having become just the second team to win in Perpignan this season - Leeds were the others - and now needing to get a win at home to Wakefield on Sunday to finish at least fourth, few in the visiting party were complaining.

And it was certainly a cause for wild celebration among the hundreds in the claret and gold army, who had made the rip and made themselves heard from start to finish.

It was a victory for them as much as anything.

The sides were level at 6-6 at break after a first half that was of the poorest quality, with knock-on after knock-on leading to the most frustrating of contests. It was awful.

Clearly, the hot and muggy conditions didn't help either side, as they both took it in turns to make fundamental errors with monotonous regularity.

The initial exchanges also weren't helped by the sickening fourth-minute injury to Elliott Whitehead, who required lengthy on-field treatment after a nasty clash with Ukuma Ta'ai and had to leave the field on a stretcher.

That 10-minute disruption didn't suit either side, and it wasn't until the 31st minute until the deadlock was finally broken by the Giants.

In what was a rare foray deep inside the Dragons' 20, the visitors forced a repeat set from which Leroy Cudjoe took play to the line and slipped the ball to Jermaine McGillvary to finish in the corner.

The fact Danny Brough was taken late after launching a high kick in the build-up to the score and the offence went unpunished clearly upset the Giants captain.

And that may have been a factor in seeing his frustration grow and culminating in his 38th-minute sin-binning for allegedly lashing out in the tackle on the back of being a 'marked man'.

That, however, didn't bother the Dragons, who struck their first blow a moment later when Morgan Escare dabbed the ball to the corner for Krisnan Inu to touch down in the nick of time before the ball went dead.

Scott Dureau followed the example of Ellis by kicking the goal from out wide to leave the game perfectly poised at the break at 6-6.

To add to the Grants' frustration Kyle Wood was forced to hobble off, meaning Luke Robinson had to spend far more time on the field than originally planned.

Even though Huddersfield started the second half strongly, it was the hosts who struck first when, after heavy pressure on the Catalans line, Joe Wardle failed to hold a Ta'ai pass and the loose ball eventually found its way to Morgan Escare to score under the posts, despite the best efforts of Jack Hughes to catch him.

Dureau converted and the Dragons were ahead for the first time.

Fortunately, the Giants came up with the perfect response as Scott Grix's long pass caught out the French defence and McGillvary collected to stroll in for his second try, again goaled by Ellis.

The half-back followed up with a penalty to put his side two points ahead in the 54th minute, although Dureau should have levelled moments later but saw his effort fail miserably.

The tension then began to mount as both sides went in search of what could prove the crucial score.

But with Brough kicking superbly to keep Catalans on the back foot, the Giants held firm and a top triumph was secured.